Insulating head piece for rail joints



Nov. 17, 1931. E. F. SCHERMERHORN 1,332,536

INSULATING HEAD PIECE FOR RAIL JOINTS Filed May 19, 1931 Z2 3 D R E I 1/j; 3 ii a @AG Patented Nov. 17, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicEiEDWARDS r. sonnnnnnnonn, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YonK, ASSIGNOR TO THE RAILJOINT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N.

Y., A ooRPoRArroN on NEW YORK INSULATING HEAD rrncn'ron RAIL JornrnsApplication filed May 19,

This invention relates to insulating head pieces for insulated railjoints, and has generally in view to provide for obtaining longer lifeand service than has heretofore been obtained from such insulatingpieces.

An insulating head piece of the character with which the presentinvention is concerned is of a length to extend throughout orsubstantially throughout the length of the rail joint and is ofsubstantially inverted L-shape in cross section, being inclusive ofvertical and lateral portions joined together by a curved connectingportion. The curved connecting portion is adapted to be interposedbetween the rail head fillet and the upper inner corner of the splicebar, and the vertical and lateral portions are adapted to extend betweenthe inner face of the splice bar and the rail web, and between the topof the splice bar andthe underside of the rail head, respectively, thusto insulate thesplice bar from the rails. The vertical portionpreferably extends at its lower edge across the line of the joint boltsand is slotted to accommodate said bolts thus to prevent the insulationfrom creeping endwise out of the 'oint. a

J In a rail joint the rail ends partake of more or less-verticalmovement when traffic passes over the joint, and dueto-temperaturechanges and other causes the rails also partake of frequent andconsiderable relative longitudinal movement. Moreover, sharp cornersusually exist'where the end faces of the rails join the differentlongitudinal faces thereof, and in many instances saw burrs are formedat saidcorners. Under such conditions, when an insulating head piece ofthe character mentioned and as heretofore constructed is embodied in arail joint, the sharp or burred edges at the rail ends have a pronouncedtendency, due to the ver tical movement of the rail ends, to cut intothe insulation, and when this occurs, followed by longitudinal movementof the rails, the cutting action of the sharp corners of the rails isaccompanied by a tearing and rupturing action upon the insulation, withthe result that the latter is liable to fracture and tear apart at itspoint of least resistance,

1931. Serial No. 538,533.

which is usually through one of the bolt slots. lVhen a fractureorrupture occurs it may progress substantially at right angles to theinsulation across the same at the rail ends, which does no particularharm, but more often the fracture or rupturedevelops as aforesaid fromthe point of cutting of the insulation by the sharp corners of the railends diagonally to an adjacent bolt slot, which is the line of leastresistance, and when such a fracture or rupture occurs there is atendency to a double fracture, which may andquite frequently does resultin a section of the insulation becoming broken away and dropping out ofthe joint, thus affecting the essential insulating capacity of thejoint. 7 I

If the head insulation is-designed in two half-length pieces to keeptheir adjacent ends back of and away from the sharp or burred edges atthe rail ends the installation is difficult, because the two insulatingpieces cannot readily be held in place wh1le the splice bars and thejoint bolts are being applied and during tightening of the joint, and,moreover, it is more economical and satisfactory from various difierentview points to form the head insulation in a single piece rather than inseparate sections.

Accordingly. the general object of the present invention is to provide afull length insulating head piece which is easy of application by reasonof being accessible from and held at each end of the joint, whichembodies a construction avoiding contact with the sharp or burred edgesat the rail ends whereby cutting of the insulation with consequent earlybeginning of a fracture is avoided, and which also embodies aconstruction to directanyfracture which may eventually'develop acrossthe insulation substantially at right angles thereto at the rail ends,whereby the fracture results in the least harm and whereby tendency ofother fractures to develop is reduced to a minimum, all to the end ofproviding for longevity of the insulation as aforesaid.

With the foregoing and otherobjects in view, which will become morefully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, thesame consists in the novel features of construction and arrangement aswill be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and defined 1n the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail-joint showing thenear splice bar removed and illustrating an insulating head piececonstructed according to one practical form of the invention, embodiedin the joint.

Figure 2 is a transverse section through the joint.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the in sulating head piece illustratedin Figs. 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of an insulating head piece constructedin accordance with another practical embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of an insulating head piece constructedin accordance with a further practical embodiment of the invention.

In the rail joint illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, R, R designate therails, 13 the splice bar, C the joint bolts, D an insulating end postinterposed between the rail ends, and E one form of the presentinsulating head piece interposed between the splice bar and the rails.

According to each of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in thedrawings, the insulating head piece E is of a length corresponding tothe length of the rail joint and is of substantially inverted L-shape incross section, being inclusive of vertically and laterally extendingportions 10 and 11, respectively, joined together by a roundedconnecting portion 12.

The vertical portion 10 of the insulating head piece is provided alongits lower edge withslots 13, and when the insulation is embodied in arail joint. as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the curved connectingportion 12 is disposed between. the rail head fillet 14 and the upperinner corner 15 of the splice bar, the lateral portion 11 extendsoutwardly between the top of the splice bar and the under side of therail head, and the vertical portion 10 is disposed between the innerface of the upper part of the splice bar and the adjacent face of therail web, the said vertical portion 10 extending downward across theline of the joint bolts and the latter being received in the slots 13.

Referring particularly to the embodiment of the invention illustrated inFigs. 1 to 3, it will be observed that in accordance with the inventionthe lateral portion 11 of the insulating head piece E has formed thereina recess 16 which opens through the outer edge of said lateral portionand extends inwardly to a point located approximately at the beginningof the rounded portion 12. It

tion.

will also be observed that said recess is located medially of theinsulation and is of a width such that the inner ends 17 of the portion11 formed by the recess 16 are disposed back of and away from the endsof the rails. ll iloreover, it will be observed that preferably a narrowslot or saw kerf l8 extends from the inner side of the recess 16 at thecenter thereof transversely across the rounded connecting portion 12,and continues downwardly across and at right angles to the verticalportion 10 to a terminal point near the lower edge of said vertical por-Thus, it is apparent that while the insulation embodies a one-piececonstruction facilitating placing of the same in, a rail joint, therecess 16 provides means whereby contact of the sharp or burred edges atthe ends of the under faces of the rail heads with the lateral portion11 of the insulation is avoided.

Consequently, despite vertical movement of the rail ends, no cuttinginto the insulation by said sharp or burred edges can take place, and,therefore, no fracture or ruptures of the insulation can be initiated bycutting action of said sharp or burred corners as has heretofore beencommon. lrloreover, by eliminating the possibility of the said sharp orburred corners of the rails cutting into or becoming embedded in theinsulation all ordinary longitudinal movements of the rails may occurwithout tendency to rip or tear the insulation, and in any event, eventhrough the longitudinal movements of the rails may e be so extreme asto pull the respective end portions of the insulation apart, the line ofleast resistance formed by the slot or saw kerf 18 provides forconfining the resultant fracture between the lower end of said slot orkerf and an adjacent edge of the insulation, so that the insulation willseparate at its center, which does no particular harm.

Ordinarily the gap between 'rail ends is approximately three-eighths ofan inch in width, and under extreme conditions this gap may increase inwidth to as much as liveeighths of an inch more or less. Consequently,it is preferred that the recess 16 be approximately three-fourths of aninch in width so as to avoid contact of the sharp edges at the rail endswith the portion 11 of the insulation under all circumstances.Obviously, however, the width and depth of the recess 16 may be variedas desired to best suit different installation conditions.

hen the portion 11 of-the insulation is re cessed as at 16 in the mannerdescribed, thereby avoiding cutting of this portion of the insulation bythe sharp corners at the ends of the rails, with consequent avoidance ofearly initiation of fractures or ruptures, it may be entirelyunnecessary under some conditions to provide the slot or saw kerf 18,especially if the rails partake of only a normal amount of endwisemovement. 7 Therefore, instead of providing the kerf 18 as in theembodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the lateralportion 11 of the insulation may simply be provided with a recess 1h asillustrated in Fig. i of the drawings, which recess may be of anydesired width and may extend from the edge of said portion 11 as faracross the insulation as desired.

As illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the recess 16 is relativelynarrow and extends from the edge of the lateral portion 11 of theinsulation entirely across said lateral portion and also across thecurved connecting portion 12 and downwardly across the upper part of thevertical portion 10, leaving aline of least resistance to fracture orrupture be tween the lower end of said recess and the lower edge of theportion 10. Consequently,

even though the sharp corners of the rails 111 ay cut into the lateralportion, any tendency of the insulation to fracture due to longitudinalmovement of the rails will be localized at the center of the insulationalong said line of least resistance.

Obviously the present insulating head piece is equally adapted for usewith either stand ard or head free rail joints.

Without further description it is thought that the features andadvantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form,proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim 1. An insulating head piece for insulated rail joints comprisinga sheet of insulation inclusive of a vertical portion adapted to liebetween the joint bar and the rail web and a la teral portion adapted tolie between the top of the joint bar and the under side of the railhead, said insulation having a medial recess extending inward from theouter edge of the lateral portion thereof.

2. An insulating head piece for insulated rail joints comprising a sheetof insulation inclusive of a vertical portion adapted to lie between thejoint bar and the rail web and a lateral portion adapted to lie betweenthe top of the joint bar and the under side of the rail head, saidinsulation having a medial recess extending inward from the outer edgeof the lateral portion thereof, said recess being of greater width thanthe gap between the rail ends of the rail joint in which the insulationis to be embodied.

3. An insulating head piece for insulated rail joints comprising a sheetof insulation inclusive of a vertical portion adapted to lie betweentheoint bar and the rail weband a lateral portion adapted to lie betweenthe top of the joint bar and the under side of the rail head, saidinsulation having a medial recess extending inward from the outer edgeof the lateral portion entirely across said portion and downwardlyacross said vertical portion to a point spaced above the lower edge ofthe latter. a I

4. An insulating head-piece for insulated rail joints comprising a sheetof insulation inclusive of a vertical portion adapted to lie between thejoint bar and the rail web and a lateral portion adapted to lie betweenthetop of the joint bar and the under side of the-rail head, saidinsulation having a medial recess of appreciable width extending inwardfrom the outer edge of the lateral portion thereof and further having arelatively narrow slot extending from the inner edge of said recess atthe center thereof downwardly across said vertical portion to a pointspaced above the lower edge of the latter.

5. An insulating head piece for insulated rail joints comprising a sheetof insulation of a length approximating the length of the rail joint andinclusive of a vertical portion adapted to lie between the joint bar andthe rail web, a lateral portion adapted to lie between the top of thejoint bar and the under side of the rail head, and a curved portionconnecting said vertical and lateral portions and adapted to lie betweenthe rail head fillet and the upper inner corner of the joint bar, saidlateral portion having a medial recess.

6. An insulating head piece for insulated rail oints comprising a sheetof insulation of a length approximating the length of the rail joint andinclusive of a vertical portion adapted to lie between the joint bar andthe rail web, a lateral portion adapted to lie between the top of thejoint bar and the under side of the rail head, and a curved portionconnecting said vertical and lateral portions and adapted to lie betweenthe rail head fillet and the upper inner corner of the joint bar, saidlateral portion having a medial recess extending substantially entirelythereacross.

7. An insulating head piece for insulated rail joints comprising a sheetof insulation inclusive of a vertical portion adapted to lie between thejoint bar and the rail web, a lateral portion adapted to lie between thetop of the joint bar and the under side of the rail head, and a curvedportion connecting said vertical and lateral portions and adapted to liebetween the rail head fillet and the upper inner corner of the jointbar, said lateral portion having amedial recess extending substantiallyentirely thereacross and of a width greater than the width of the gapbetween therail end of the rail joint in which the insulation is to beembodied.

8. An insulating head piece for insulated rail joints comprising a sheetof insulation inclusive of a vertical portion adapted to lie between thejoint bar and the rail web, a lateral portion adapted to lie between thetop ofthe joint bar and the under side of the rail head, and a curvedportion connecting said vertical and lateral portions and adapted tolie' between the, rail head fillet andthe upper innercorner of the jointbar, said lateral portion having a medial recess of appreciable widthextending inwardly from the outer edge of said portion approximately tosaid curved connecting portion, said connecting portion having a slotformed medially there- :icross opening into said recess and extendingdownwardly across said vertical portion to, a point spaced above thelower edge of said vertical portion.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

EDWARDS F. SOHERMERHORN.

